


A Reason To Stay

by Lunarium



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Erebor, Gen, Ghosts, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-16 10:55:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13052568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarium/pseuds/Lunarium
Summary: By rights, they shouldn't be here. Thorin, Fíli, and Kíli give them a reason to stay.





	A Reason To Stay

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lferion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lferion/gifts).



By all rights, they should not have been here. They had embarked on the journey as Thorin’s high guards, for all the good that did him. Their leader fell before them in battle, and despite their efforts—forming a circle around their wounded leader and king, keeping all foe from reaching him—he still died and left the mountain to the ruling of his cousin. And they…they were not of the Longbeards. They had come from the Blue Mountains, three Broadbeam dwarves with hearts sympathetic to the plight of the Longbeards. They came here out of sympathy and support. They left their homes to help others regain theirs. They had no business staying. 

And they had failed. Not only in guarding their king, but also in the two princes who bravely fought and lost their lives while fighting right beside them. They fell in battle on either side of them. They never saw the end of the battle or Erebor declared free. They never saw what would become of the Longbeards their people. 

By all rights, they should not be here. They were among the only Broadbeams who witnessed Dáin Ironfoot crowned as king. The army out of the Iron Hills were made up of Longbeards and some Ironfists, but Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur were among those not of any noble line or had any claim of ancestry to the ancient mountain. 

“Who’s there?” 

Bofur gingerly pushed himself on his elbows, peering in the dark bedroom. With a grunt, he shuffled out of bed, hard feet slapping the cold hardstone floor. There had been a light and he thought he had also heard a voice, but upon opening his eyes nothing had been there.

The underground homes of Erebor were hollowed out cavern apartments with windows carved out into the wide open streets: bridges which led to the markets, the mines, and the king’s throne. Bofur’s own home had a window which gave a clear vantage point of the throne. He peered out of it on his way to get some water when a glow caught his eye. After a few moments passed, Bofur felt the hair on his arms rise. 

His feet carried him past the front doors of his home and down the steep steps towards the halls of the throne. 

Now closer, the identity of the man before the throne was unmistakable. He stood studying the throne for a few moments before he turned towards Bofur, smiled, and walked down the hall, his gait ever as noble as it had been in life. His transparent form disappeared into the dark.

*

“I thought meself drunk but I hadn’t that many drinks last night,” Bofur finished his tale. He anticipated his brother and cousin telling him that he was off his rocker, that the grief had gotten to him, that he needed to ease up on the mead (the last one he could maybe agree with. Maybe.) But they only stared at him with indescribable expressions.

“It was Thorin to you?” Bifur finally said. 

Bofur nodded. “Wait, what do you mean?” 

“It was Fíli for me,” Bombur said. “I had gotten up to use the loo, and I noticed there was a glow coming from the bakery. Fíli was there studying the unsold pastries my wife and I had made. This must have happened two or three times. Just Fíli standing around, exploring about the place.” 

“And he didn’t look sad?” Bofur asked. 

Bombur shook his head. “Didn’t look at the pasties with a wistful look either. Never disrupted my wife or any of my children. Just seemed delighted to look around, actually.” 

“And I had many a times,” Bifur added in a gruff voice, “when I would walk about my own apartment in the night and find Kíli looking through the toys I’ve been carving in my shop. Delighted as the first day he came to watch me work, back in the Blue Mountain. No misery, no regret in his eyes. He would sometimes move the little toy figures around before parting, and that would be the only evidence I had of him being here.” 

“How did he place the toys?” Bofur asked. “I mean…” 

“If you mean did he place them in any manner that invoked the scene of his death?” Bifur chuckled. “No. Little dolls off shopping, or meeting with family, small adult figurines with smaller child dwarf figurines. That was all I had ever seen. Nothing that resembled that fateful battle.

“And if his ghost had any malicious intent against me, he had plenty of chances to come to me. He was only ever interested in my work. And, I presume, explore the rest of the kingdom.” 

“And Thorin…how did he appear?” Bombur asked, turning back to Bofur. “Did he say anything to you?” 

“Nothing,” Bofur said. “But if he was angry, I would have known it. If he was upset or grieved by his situation, then I would have known it instantly. But he smiled. It was brief but genuine. He was at peace. He left down the hall and that was the last I saw of him.” 

“Then, it’s settled,” Bombur said with a slight shrug. “Thorin and his sister-sons are satisfied with how things are running in the mountain. Otherwise they would have shook the entire mountain in their sorrow.” 

“You think so?” Bofur said, keeping hope at bay in his voice. 

Bombur nodded. “I see no other reason. They wished to see the mountain and how the rest of their company were doing. What do they see? A kingdom thriving once more, their friends alive and well, and the Longbeards living happily in their homeland.” 

Bofur couldn’t help broaching the question. “And what of us Broadbeams?” 

“What of it?” Bifur said. “They’ve visited us. They might have visited the others but they’re not speaking up for fear of ridicule. They must be happy we’re contributing so much to their kingdom. Freeing it and living in it.” 

Bombur nodded his agreement, and Bofur smiled. “Then that gives me a reason to feel I belong here.” 

They poured out a glass and gave a toast to their former king and his sister-sons. 

“To Thorin, Fíli, and Kíli, for who we served and now will live our lives in their memories. May our work and our successes continue to bring them joy!”


End file.
